Punch Me Not
by Scarlet7
Summary: She just uses her fists too much, and he has finally thought up something to make it stop.


Disclaimer: I don't own Flame of Recca.

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It was such a nice day. The afternoon sun was bright, almost cheerful, and cotton puffs were scattered all over the blue sky.

They were walking side by side in the park, and all around them were many other people spending the first day of summer out in the sunshine. It brought Raiha into such a good mood that he suddenly grabbed the hand of the girl walking beside him, only to be hit on the skull by her other free hand.

"Ow!" He let go and rubbed his head.

…

"What was that for?"

Fuuko placed her hands on her hips and said, "That's what you get for being too fresh with Fuuko-sama."

…

He was still rubbing his head. "I was just holding your hand."

"Yeah, well," she mumbled, her face turning slightly pink for a moment. "But there are too many people here. And you"—she jabbed a finger on his chest—"can't just do anything you want with me."

Raiha was puzzled. Fuuko was acting quite odd—did the summer heat get to her already?

"But holding hands is perfectly natural for two people in love."

"Ba—baka!" She hit him twice in less than five minutes, she blushing for the second time as well.

…

Raiha rubbed his head again. He didn't really mind Fuuko hitting him daily, but if it kept on, who knows what could happen? What if he'd turn—what was the word, ah yes—forgetful? Or worse, it would lead to, er, early senility?

Just then, an idea popped into his mind, so outrageous but so… wicked he couldn't resist.

"Fuuko," he said, trying hard not to smile to himself. "From now on, whenever you punch me, I'm going to kiss you in return."

…

"Says who?!" she growled, making a record of hitting him thrice in no more than ten minutes.

That was it. Raiha could only think that she actually wanted the consequence.

Before she could react, he leaned in towards her face and whispered in her ear, "Don't say I didn't warn you," and pulled his face back a bit—she looked disbelievingly at him—and planted a quick kiss on her lips. Then he braced himself for another punch from her.

Instead, when he looked at her face, she had on an expression he couldn't read at all—she looked furious and surprised and amused all at one go—and suddenly, she turned and walked quickly away from him.

Behind her, someone let out a very audible sigh.

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Half an hour later, after Fuuko had decided to take refuge on one of the park swings and Raiha had followed her, they sat in stuffy silence until he decided to break it.

"Fuuko, are you mad?"

…

…

…

"Uh," he cleared his throat. "Fuuko?"

…

"No," she finally answered. "But you… you actually stole a kiss from me! That's—that's unforgivable!"

"I did not," Raiha protested. "I told you what I was going to do, and you went on and hit me anyway. Besides, I've kissed you many times before, haven't I?"

Smoke could almost be seen coming out of Fuuko's ears. She was blushing again, and she didn't like it one bit. Raiha just didn't get the point at all, and it would be such a waste if she'd try to argue.

"Anyway," he went on. "I think a kiss is much better than a punch."

…

He had a point, Fuuko thought, but it was still different! It was hopeless. He was hopeless.

Neither of them said anything for a while, until Raiha broke the silence again.

"Fuuko?"

"What?"

"I just want to know, do you really like hitting me so much?" 

"I also hit Recca and Domon a lot." 

"Then, why do you do it? Do we look like punching bags?"

"Baka!" she snarled. "It's… I dunno, it's like a reflex or something. My fist sort of automatically shoots out when a guy pisses me off. Well, something like that."

"Oh," was all he could say, and it annoyed her a bit. He didn't seem quite convinced with her answer.

"But that's not all, of course," she added. "Most of the time it's to knock some sense into your hollow skulls."

"More like literally knock some sense in, huh?"

"Well… yeah."

…

"Well… it's your fault for being idiots."

"Fuuko," he started. "Do you think that reason is good enough?" He turned and looked at her face, but she was looking at the ground. "Even if you hit me, Recca, or Domon a hundred times a day, nothing but bruises and headaches will come out of it. Punches won't be able to fill our… 'hollow skulls,' you know," he lectured her.

…

"But since you're that way, I'll just tolerate it, because I don't want to force change into you. Who knows, maybe my skull could get thicker over time?" Raiha smiled and lightly knocked the side of his head.

Fuuko kept silent. Raiha obviously said that to make her feel guilty, but she felt so all the same. Though she didn't want to admit it, he was sort of right, anyway.

…

"Sorry." She was still counting the pebbles on the ground.

"Don't worry. Just forget what I said, alright?" He stood up and smiled, and reached out a hand to her. "Come on, let's walk around some more."

He was just too cute. She smiled back and, this time, took his hand.

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The sun had already set by the time they got back to Fuuko's house.

"Fuuko," Raiha said before she could go in. "I just want to tell you that… I'm not taking back what I said earlier. It's still a deal. So, see you tomorrow!"

She snapped, "Give it up already!" and—she couldn't help it—hit him before he could even turn to leave.

…

…

"That was your goodnight kiss."

"Raiha, you… IDIOT!!!"

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A/N: It's just something random I came up with! Hope you liked it. If you actually read until this line, reviewing is just a short click away. :-) Thanks!


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